Implants Are A Second Chance For A Perfect Smile by Nick Messe

One of the questions uppermost in the minds of any person who's wondering if a dental implant is right for them, is whether it will feel like a real tooth. The answer is that it will. Plus with modern dental technology, the implant will be virtually indistinguishable in appearance from your own natural teeth.

Dental implants are a technology that's been around since the late 1970s although it didn't become widespread until the 1990s. It's a permanent answer to tooth loss, an ideal solution for someone whose gums are healthy and generally free from periodontal disease. A person who has lost a tooth or teeth, perhaps due to an injury, maybe due to an accident or localized pocket of gum disease, can benefit from this technology.

There other ways out of your dental dilemma as well as implants. There are dental crowns, dental bridges, and partial or full dentures. However, carefully consider the differences. Your dental crown fits over one of your own teeth, and that tooth can continue to deteriorate even after your crown is in place. Perhaps the contours of your mouth have shifted subtly so that the crown no longer fits as tightly as it initially did and tiny particles of food have gotten stuck in it, leading to decay.

Perhaps the tooth has an underlying pathology that your dentist was unable to diagnose completely when your work was first done. Dental bridges depend upon the health and resilience of bordering teeth for support and often those teeth just won't be able to anchor a bridge. Finally, even the best crafted dentures often feel awkward in your mouth, impeding speaking, eating and even smiling as warmly and openly as you might like to.

With dental implants, you experience none of those difficulties. A dental implant can replace a damaged or missing tooth without affecting nearby teeth. It can also be used to anchor a bridge, or a full or partial denture, if you and your dentist decide that is the best solution.

Thanks to modern technology, a dental implant can match your own teeth in shape, size and color so that nobody enchanted by your smile will be able to tell it apart from your natural teeth. Many people completely forget that their implants are not their own natural teeth. That's how comfortable they feel inside your mouth.

Dental implants can be placed in a way that allows them to bond to your jaw bone, the same way the roots of your own natural teeth do. This stimulates the jaw bone, in many cases halting and preventing further bone deterioration. Many more of your own natural teeth are left intact, improving your overall oral health.

Dental implants make it easier for you to brush and floss your teeth the way your dentist and your hygienist have shown you. With proper care, they can last a lifetime. Don't you owe it to yourself to sit down with your dentist and find out if implants are for you? After all, they feel exactly like your own teeth and look exactly your own teeth. Some people might call that a second chance at a perfect smile.